The Closest Thing to Flying
by josiesriverdale
Summary: Josie has firmly set her sights on winning a gold medal at the next Olympic Games, but a certain simultaneously sexy and irritating distraction begins to make her wonder if her dreams are truly hers or her dad's [mcmantle au that nobody asked for!])
1. Chapter 1

"…And then he said, _"Sweetheart, there are only three things that tear families apart and that's money, sex and maple syrup!"_ " Alice Cooper finally reached the end of her long, tedious anecdote leaving a notable pause for comedic effect. Like clockwork, her guests chuckled and chortled in good humour, including Josie McCoy herself, despite not really understanding what the point of her longwinded joke had really been in the first place.

 _Look interested, play the game,_ Josie instructed herself calmly. With her clutch purse in one hand and a glass of chilled water in the other, she sent the hostess a polite smile before taking a sip of her beverage, acting as though she was perfectly comfortable within the multi-million dollar household that was buzzing with socialites, celebrities and business people.

Alice's husband, Hal Cooper, the CEO of Canada's most widely used supermarket chain "The Coop" took a generous swig of his urine coloured drink—probably whisky. "Speaking of family, Josephine here is _Myles McCoy's_ daughter. Excellence certainly runs in that family. She struck silver at the Athletics World Championships a few months ago," his beady eyes graced her with an impressed gaze which she acknowledged with yet another closed tight-lipped and somewhat appreciative smile.

It wasn't easy being the daughter of an ex-athlete who'd won not one, but two Olympic gold medals for his country in Men's 400M. Josie ran the same distance and second place was a disappointment to him; "a glorified loser". He'd given her the cold shoulder for a week.

Hums of amazement came from various other members of the social circle. The elderly French couple to her left regarded her with a newfound admiration in the wake of disdain.

"Ah!" Mrs Cooper put a hand to her chest in recognition. "Oh, Myles is such a lovely man. You must tell him we said hello," she trilled, coming across as rather patronising.

The young athlete nodded, "I'll be sure to tell him that." Then she added, lying smoothly, "Thank you so much for inviting me to your home, Mrs Cooper. It's beautiful." There was nothing more flattering to an upper class housewife than a complement toward her house, even though she didn't clean it herself.

That caused another wave of cooing. "Oh, aren't you polite?" Her dad had heavily hinted that she could make up for her previous failure by securing a sponsorship deal with The Coop. Josie had no desire to be at this mixer, but was determined to make him proud this time around.

"It's no problem at all," Hal answered on behalf of his wife, taking another drink of his alcohol. He pointed his empty glass toward her and looked her dead in the eye. "If you ever need anything—a sponsor, some money—let us know, poppet, we'll hook you up."

* * *

She'd gotten what she wanted. Now she wanted to go home.

However, Alice had taken a special liking to her and had introduced her to one of her daughters, who was the same age as Josie.

Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper was a younger model of her mother, sharing her pin straight blonde hair and condescendingly kind blue eyes. She had the whole girl-next-door persona on lock. From what Josie had seen of her on TV, she was certain it was all an act. But as Betty led her through the hallway toward the rec room where her friends were hanging out and talking her ear off about all the charity work she'd done in Riverdale, it was proving to be 100% genuine.

The Coopers were the closest thing that Canada had to the Kardashians, well, if the Kardashians had a living patriarch and no sex scandal. "Coping with the Coopers" followed the three Cooper children through their daily triumphs and tribulations, acting as the favourite over-produced and scripted reality TV drama source for many. Personally, Josie preferred something more intellectually stimulating like Survivor or Big Brother. Chic, 32, was a lazy lone wolf who was constantly unsure on whether he wanted to take over the family business. Betty, 21, was a real life Mary-Sue whose biggest problem was coming to terms with how perfect her life was.

Sales were thriving and the show had reached peak ratings, especially after the surprising reveal that Hal was distant cousins with his business rival Clifford Blossom of Blossom Foods. The cherry on top of the cake that Polly, 22, and Jason, heir to the Blossom Foods Empire, were dating (a modern day Romeo and Juliet storyline) and with child.

The whole situation sounded like a hot mess. Yet, Josie's mum was eager for her to network with them "just in case her career in sports didn't work out".

The two women finally arrived at the rec room, Betty made a bee-line for the grouch-ey looking dude in a hat who was slumped on the sofa. The blonde socialite placed a chaste kiss on his grey cheek and gestured toward the athlete who nervously fiddled with her clutch purse in the door way. "Juggie," her voice had adopted a sickly sweet tone that made Josie want to throw up, "this is Josie McCoy. She's a runner."

Josie brought a hand to greet him casually, "Hi."

The guy merely spared a withering glance in her direction, remaining silent. _Wow, rude much?_

Betty giggled in good nature, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, "Don't mind him, he's just shy." _Yeah, sure,_ the athlete thought sarcastically. Her instincts were urging her to do exactly what she did best: run. "Come inside. Take a seat. We're not bad, I promise you."

Josie looked around the room cautiously, surveying everything from the well-stocked mini bar in the corner to the massive state of the art-speakers that were pumping out the chorus to Closer by The Chainsmokers. Betty and Druggie or whatever his name was, were intertwined on one of the two glossy leather couches that formed an L shape in the space's centre. Game console controllers sat on the floorboards below the 85 inch plasma TV resting on the far wall, it appeared as though a game had been paused.

Gripping her purse, the runner was about to take a step forward however her movements were stopped when something bumped into her, causing her to stumble backwards. Luckily, she was able to grab onto the doorframe for support however a wet sensation crept along the front of her dress and she looked down in panic to see that it was covered in giant red stain.

Somebody let out a sharp gasp. It took Josie a moment to realise that it was her who had made such a sound. She knew she shouldn't have come. Instead, she should've just arranged to meet up with Toni, Mel and Val so that they could discuss their relay strategy.

"Oh my gosh, Archie! What did I tell you and Reggie about play fighting?!" Betty quickly detangled herself from her zombie-like boyfriend and hurried over to her guest's side. Her lip quivered inconsolably as she placed a concerned hand on her shoulder, "Josie, I am so _so_ sorry." She looked as though she was about to burst into tears at any given second, which was strange considering Josie was the one with her dress ruined by an unidentified substance.

A pale red-haired guy stood nearby with an empty wine glass in his hand, awkwardly scratching at the back of his head whilst his mouth gaped open, an equally astonished handsome Asian dude hovered behind his shoulder. "Shit, I-I'm sorry," Justin Gingerlake's cheeks turned a furious shade of crimson as he apologised wholeheartedly to an unbothered Josie, "we weren't fighting we were just fooling around." _Like that makes anything better?_

"You may have been fooling around, I wasn't," his accomplice retorted quietly, glaring at the back of his rival's ruffled head.

"Shut up, Reggie!"

"Make me, Ed Sheeran!"

Round 2 was fast approaching. Josie rolled her eyes at their bravado, these guys were such idiots and she could feel herself slowly choking to death on the testosterone radiating off of Dumb and Dumber. "I'm just gonna head home. Is there a way I can leave the house without being seen, like a back door or something?" She asked Betty, deliberately ignoring the two men that were standing toe to toe.

The Cooper's middle child gulped and nodded like a deer caught in the headlights, "Yeah, if you walk back up the hall we just came down. It should be to your left. Gosh, I'm sorry."

"Me too," Josie muttered dryly, staring down at the state of the once white off-the-shoulder dress her mother had bullied her into wearing earlier in the evening. "Me too, girl."

* * *

Josie kept her head down as she hastily walked around the side of the Cooper residence, the combination of wet fabric clinging to her skin plus the nippy night air made her shiver uncontrollably. The sooner she left this place the better, she didn't know how much more bullshit she could tolerate.

"Hey! Wait up!" A masculine voice called from behind her. Nope, she wasn't hanging around any longer, so kept things moving. She let out a small sigh of relief when she reached the front of the house, just a little further and she'd be back at her car. "Hey, did you not hear me?" The pitter-patter of footsteps drew near and Josie stopped just as Reggie jogged up beside her and then in front of her and inserted himself right in her path.

Josie raised an eyebrow, letting out a dry scoff, "What do you want?"

Even though she was wearing heels, he towered over her but she was anything but intimidated. In the first few minutes of meeting him she could just tell he was an absolute dumbass. "Look, I'm sorry about your dress." His dark eyes raked over her body from head to toe, the inspection was thorough and triggered an unexpected warmth within her. _It's nothing, get it together._ "Lemme give you my shirt or something to cover up, you're shaking."

"No, I'm not," she denied harshly, crossing her arms. She totally was.

He shamelessly proceeded to unbutton his shirt, his hands were big and broad but they moved swiftly. Josie's eyes widened, without any thought her hand darted out to grab his, forcefully stopping him. "Stop!" She hissed, "What are you doing?"

Reggie's eyes gleamed at her flustered nature. _He's loving every second of this, isn't he?_ "I'm giving you my shirt so you don't get cold," he explained with the patience suited to an infant learning to read.

The athlete sighed, withdrawing her hand from his as though it was inflicting her with third degree burns. "Keep your clothes on." She side stepped around his tall muscled frame and continued on her way down the drive way. "I don't want to be humiliated any more tonight," she threw over her shoulder frostily.

Yet, he didn't listen to single word that she was saying and he was still following her closely. God, he was annoying. Josie rolled her eyes for the nth time, it was a wonder that her eyes weren't permanently stuck in the back of her head already. She exchanged a nod with the large elderly gatekeeper as he opened the front gate, allowing her to leave the Cooper's residence. He sent her a friendly smile in return, his teeth gleaming due to contrast that his mahogany skin provided.

"Wait, you have no idea who I am, do you?" Reggie smirked in amusement, falling in step with her. For a split blissful moment, she had forgotten that he was even there.

Josie looked over at him, her eyes narrowing into unnerving slits of suspicion. She'd definitely seen Reggie somewhere before. He was from that boyband that Melody and Toni loved so much. "Nope. Should I?"

He was suddenly in her way again. Flailing her arms dejectedly, she tried to walk around him, however he slid sideways blocking her path on the pavement with ease. "Hey—look at me. Please just accept my shirt. I feel like a jerk just leaving you alone like this," he insisted in a lowered tone of voice and he softly placed a hand on reassurance on her arm. His lips slowly curled into a persuasive grin and he shrugged, "Plus, you'll get to see me shirtless which is an added bonus."

Josie inhaled sharply, wrenching her arm away from his touch. Reggie's shirt was already halfway open, revealing a portion of his built, sculpted chest. He _did_ have a great body. _Stop!_ She couldn't believe that she was even thinking about this. This guy loved himself way too much, she wasn't about to feed his ego. Using her purse as a pointer, the runner motioned up and down his frame, "Whatever-your-name-is, run back to your frat boy buddy and leave me the hell alone," she demanded.

 _Click. Click._

A persistent clicking sound was coming from the gaggle of bushes adjacent. The plant shook and rustled. Reggie and Josie sent each other confused glances as they watched it curiously. Suddenly, a small skinny man with glasses emerged from the leaves gripping a camera and snapping picture after picture of the couple before him. "Hey, Reggie!" _Click._ "How's it going?" _Click. Click. Click._

The man in question brought up his arm to cover his face. "Shit, the papz are here," he ushered the athlete along the empty streets. "I'm walking you to wherever you need to go." His phrasing was a fact, not a question.

"Whatever. Just…don't talk to me," Josie put a weary hand to her forehead. Her feet throbbed in pain with every step that she took, she yearned for the comfort of her own bed and a cup of hot cocoa.

The photographer was trailing after them relentlessly, shooting them relentlessly with probing question after probing question. "Reggie! Reggie! Where's Archie?"

"That's none of your beeswax, buddy!—"

"Is it true that you two hate each other?—"

"No, there's just a lot of sexual tension between us—"

"Will this break up the band?—"

"If anything, it's make us a lot more _intimate_." Reggie joked arrogantly peeking in her direction to see if she was laughing, his swagger becoming more pronounced. She wasn't. She wasn't impressed by him in the slightest.

"Reggie! Is this your girlfriend? I know you! You're Myles McCoy's daughter! Er, Jessie?"

Shit, the clicking of Josie's heels hastened whilst she desperately dug her car keys out of her purse upon arrival at the vehicle. After a few tries, she clicked on the right button, her car opening with the swift flash of the headlights. There were multiple photos of her with an ugly stain on the front of her dress, standing in close proximity to a famous boyband member whose shirt was halfway open exposing his chest to the world. There was no doubt in her mind that they would be published tomorrow, or later that night. When her other sponsors saw them, they would drop her quicker than the deadliest plunge of a rollercoaster.

This wasn't a good look for her at all. Her father would be furious.

Josie yanked open the door of her BMW, sliding into the driver's seat. "Um, is there, like, any chance at all that I could get your number? What we have goin' is pretty undeniable," Reggie smouldered flirtatiously, rubbing his hands together. There were no words to describe the woman's exasperation. She prayed that she would never lay eyes on him again. Mustering up the dirtiest look possible, she glared him down slamming the door firmly shut.

Shakily, she put the key into the ignition and turned it, practically speeding it out of there—she remained within the legal confines of course, she didn't want to add any more dirt to her image.

She didn't let herself breathe until she was on the highway.

* * *

this idea just popped up in my head and i had to write it! what do you think? pls don't be afraid to leave a review. no matter how long or short I love hearing from readers, plus they help me stay motivated :


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, they belong to** **Archie Comic Publications, Inc., Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and The CW.**

* * *

 **MANTLE THE MAGNIFICENT'S NEW SQUEEZE?**

 _By Dilton Doiley_

Myles McCoy forcefully slapped the copy of the Blue and Gold onto the desk of his study and stood over his daughter with a heavy expression of disapproval. Josie internally cringed at the suggestive headline and the even more suggestive picture that came with it. The young athlete shifted in her chair uncomfortably, extremely aware of the silent animosity radiating off of her dad in waves. "I'm sorry," she apologised, talking to her fingers sitting meekly in her lap rather than his face. "His friend spilt wine on my dress and he offered to walk me back to my car, that's it." Well, that wasn't entirely it, but she didn't feel like relaying all of the messy details right now.

Her father descended into his seat on the other side of the wooden desk, making her feel like a child getting reprimanded in a principal's office. Behind him hung The Photograph™. A healthy twenty-something year old man donning a red and white tracksuit-with the signature maple leaf stamped on the chest-looked on with a megawatt grin, two gleaming golden disks held up in each hand. It was hard to imagine that her dad had been the carefree man in the portrait. Now his face was sullen with stress, the deep frown painted on his face caused a crippling pang of guilt within her chest. Myles gestured at the newspaper lying between them with absolute disgust, "So you're not dating this boy?"

Josie peered up at him, shaking her head, "I'm not." God, she hated how small, how _weak_ , she sounded.

"Good," her dad grunted in response. He leaned back in his chair, propping his elbows on the armrests as he stared her down. "You know, a representative from Nike called. They've seen the stories and they're thinking about dropping you."

Shit. The athlete's gaze dropped back down to her fingers which she was anxiously fiddling with in attempts to stop herself from bursting into tears. She'd let him down. She'd let him down and this was her deserved punishment.

"Luckily," the ex-Olympian sighed wearily despite the good news, "I persuaded them to give you another chance."

Josie's frame visibly relaxed. Her relief was apparent as her once stiff shoulders dropped.

In a typical fashion, Myles didn't let her good mood last long. He delved into the signature lecture that she had heard so many times before that she could recite it off by heart. It played on a continuous loop whenever she trained, acting as a constant reminder that the dream she had wouldn't be entirely possible if it weren't for him. She owed her father so much. "Don't think, even for a second, that this lets you off of the hook. Josephine, I cannot stress how important it is for you to maintain you integrity and dedication to this sport. Back when I ran, it was all about natural speed and endurance, now it's all about _sex_ and _drugs_ ," he always spat out those two words like they were pure and utter filth contaminating his mouth. "It takes the emphasis off of the game. I thought you were committed to this-"

"I _am_ committed to this," Josie cut him off, slightly taken aback by how fiercely she'd spoken toward her coach. She met his eyes, matching his determination. "I am committed this, I'll do better," she promised him, more than herself.

* * *

Archie was singing lead. _Again._

Reggie rolled his eyes for the nth time as he lounged leisurely on the recording studio sofas with his bandmates, watching the golden boy take his sweet time in the booth. Archie Andrews tended to unconsciously hog the limelight in whatever sphere he was in, rendering anything and everything else completely irrelevant. Depending on which day of the week it was, Reggie's jealousy regarding that quality would be one tinged with admiration or unfiltered hatred. Today it was definitely the latter.

"How was it last night?" Chuck asked, interrupting Mantle's current thoughts: a detailed master plan on how to overthrow Archie and replace him as the face of the band.

Reggie's head snapped sideways to where his bro sat beside him, "Wha?"

"How was it last night? At Betty's?" His friend repeated, holding up his phone with a wolfish grin. "I have to admit, bro, I was worried she'd try and kill you too but it seems like you had other plans." Chuck Clayton had a complicated and dare he say _sticky_ past. Betty had had an episode and almost boiled the guy like an egg in her family's hot tub whilst tauntingly drippling maple syrup over his face during a Cooper-hosted party one night. Her family had paid him to keep quiet as though it would magically cure their daughter's mental illness-or as they stupidly liked to nickname it, "Dark Betty".

"Huh?" Reggie's dark brows knitted together in confusion.

"Dude, last night. You and _Josie McCoy_." Reggie still had no idea what the hell he was talking about. Chuck scoffed and tossed his iPhone in his bandmate's direction, the guy snatched it out of the air with ease. He squinted at the contents of the screen, slowly nodding in realisation as the events of the previous night came flooding back.

"Ah, right." He'd been wrestling not-so-playfully with Archie-that was just how things were between them. Every dispute started out as an ambiguous round of banter that could be interpreted as a malicious attack on one another or merely typical bro-ish behaviour. This time, their sparring match had resulted in Archie spilling his drink on a bystander. On Josie.

According to the article, she was an athlete; she ran 400M individual and relay. Damn. Well, that explained how she was able to walk so fast, even at 6ft 1 he'd had a little-miniscule-trouble keeping up with her. She may have been short but her legs were long, and the muscle definition gave them a nice shape. On impulse, he knew he wanted them wrapped around him tightly as he-

"So, did you get her number?" Chuck prodded for the juicy details, but Reggie was still inspecting the pics of him and Josie. She was hot. Being in a boy band had its perks, the ladies being one of them. Mantle the Magnificent had had practically everything thrown his way: wigs, bras, panties-you name it! However, the only thing Josie McCoy had spared in his direction was a withered glance of frustration, and it made him all the more intrigued. He could work with frustration...

"Err, what?"

"Bruh, I asked if you got her number," Clayton articulated, chucking in amusement at his friend's dazed demeanour. "You are so whipped."

"Nah, she drove off before I could ask," Reggie lied casually, throwing in a shrug. In truth, she had ignored his advances and sped off into the night, leaving him with nothing but a bruised ego.

Chuck wasn't buying it. "She hated you, didn't she?"

"Yup."

* * *

"So as usual, I'll run the anchor leg. Toni, you run the first leg, and pass off to Mel, who will pass off to Val, who will pass the baton to me. Any questions?" Josie finished explaining her strategy to her relay team mates, looking around the table at for their honest thoughts. _I haven't been thorough enough,_ she feared. She could always show them the various hand-drawn, colour co-ordinated diagrams that were sitting in her bag, waiting to be utilised. The ambitious athlete had hastily called a meeting at their local hang out after a stern briefing from her father, and she was determined to focus on nothing but her craft.

Yet it seemed as though the serious sentiment wasn't. To her right, pieces of burger bread stuck out of Toni Topaz's food-stuffed mouth as she nodded eagerly in understanding, crimson-red sauce smeared all around her mouth. Melody, who sat across from them, was too busy surveying her face with a gentle fondness that clearly went beyond the boundaries of teammates. Josie sighed wearily, there were no official rules against athletes dating one another, but it was heavily looked down on and 1) she didn't want her friends to become pariahs in the sporting community, 2) she knew that her father would somehow find a way to blame her for their relationship-"insufficient" leadership perhaps.

"It seems legit," Val perked up from beside Melody, throwing the captain a bone. Josie always knew she could count on Valerie Brown. It seemed like just yesterday, the two of them were idealistic six-year olds fantasising about sharing the spot of first place on the winner's podium as a stadium crowd of thousands cheered their names in a continuous patriotic roar. Josie still had that dream of course, but things were just a little bit more realistic. Val was basically her sister. She pushed her to be better and Josie did the same. "How'd it go last night?" She leaned across the table, resting on her elbows, "Did you get the sponsorship? You beat yourself up pretty badly after the Championships."

Josie shifted, the leather seating of the booth slightly squeezing due to her movements. She shrugged, "It was good. Hal offered me a deal."

Mel frowned in genuine concern, "J, that place has, like, a really bad aura. Besides," she glanced over her shoulder as though Alice Cooper would pop out and personally burn her to death with her sunshine smile, "their chickens aren't even free range. Imagine all of those poor little chicks dying and suffering."

"Babe," Toni scoffed, she was lucky she hadn't choked on her burger, "ain't nobody care about the chickens."

"I do!" Melody huffed.

Valerie shook her head in amusement at their exchange, "Josie, that's great! We should do something to celebrate."

The athlete sent her a look of silent gratitude, it had been a while since she had felt proud of her accomplishments. Myles always taught her to strive for bigger and better things, causing her to forget that she was allowed to treat herself from time to time.

Toni held up a ketchup-stained finger, "Hol' up. Speaking of last night, when exactly were you gonna tell us that you met Reggie from _Dujour_?"

 _Great._ Josie had fully intended to pretend that the whole encounter had never taken place. Sure, Reggie Mantle was a very charming and persistent man, however she couldn't afford to let her mind wonder right now. Running was her _only_ romantic interest; it had been a life-long affair that she hoped would end with several-multiple-Olympic Golds. The athlete's skin burned as she played dumb, tilting her head to the side, " _Who_ from _who_?"

Before she even had the chance to finish her sentence, all three of her team mates pounced down her throat like Pussycats desperate for cream, or in this case the juicy details, which were non-existent. Although, no matter how hard Josie tried, she couldn't shake the memory of Reggie's sculpted chest coming into view as he kindly insisted that she use his shirt to cover up. And...he was kinda-sorta funny..if you like the whole delusional arrogance shtick.

Melody was squealing in delight.

"Wait. You met _Reggie Mantle_?" Valerie gushed with wide eyes, "Oh my gosh, why didn't you say anything?"

"Duh! Reggie Mantle from _Dujour_. The boyband. They sang that song, " _Backdoor Lover_ ", you know I freakin' love that song!" Toni professed, gesturing her hands around passionately.

Josie nodded, squinting recognition, "I think I remember it." Another lie. She practically knew it word for word, Melody and Toni couldn't shut the hell up when it had been released. She frowned, quickly recalling the comically awful lyrics, "Wasn't that whole song an innuendo for anal sex?"

"What? I thought it was about a secret, romantic and epic Romeo-and-Juliet, Guinevere-and-Lancelot, Bella-and-Edward type love story..." Mel gaped innocently.

Valerie smiled, "You really tried to sneak Bella and Edward in there, huh?"

"I don't care, those guys can sing anything and make it sound like a serenade. The alphabet or the Macarena. Either way, my panties are still coming off." Toni stated factually.

"Anyway!" Josie clapped her hands together lightly, "let's get back to this strategy, I made some diagrams too."

The pink-haired athlete took an audible slurp of her milkshake, "Girl, you're not getting off that easily. Spill!"

* * *

 **So what did you think? Should Josie trust the Coopers? Did you spot the Josie and the Pussycats movie Easter Eggs I sprinkled in?**

 **All reviews are much appreciated! I'd love to hear your thoughts!**

 **[P.S sorry for any grammatical errors]**


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